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IEEE-USA Signs Coalition Statement Urging Solution to Visa-Processing Crisis for International Students, Scholars and Scientists WASHINGTON (13 May 2004) - IEEE-USA President John Steadman signed a joint statement Wednesday urging the federal government to solve the current visa-processing crisis by adopting six recommendations to streamline the admittance of international students, scholars and scientists. IEEE-USA was one of 20 science, higher education and engineering organizations, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Association of American Universities, to endorse the statement sent to U.S. policymakers. Between 2000 and 2002, the number of non-immigrant visa applications flagged for review under the U.S. Visas Mantis screening program had risen from about 1,000 to 14,000. This has helped create a massive logjam of pending applications, preventing students from attending school and scientists from participating in scholarly research and conferences. While "the need to ensure national security is indisputable," AAAS CEO Alan I. Leshner said, "legitimate applications from scholars and students seeking to improve human welfare must not become snared in red tape. Scientific advances to combat HIV and AIDS, hunger, terrorism and many other crises will require the insights and contributions of scholars from many regions." For more on the statement and its specific recommendations, click here. IEEE-USA Cites Concern About Rules on Access BPL Systems in FCC Filing WASHINGTON (10 May 2004) - In a filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last week, IEEE-USA raised concerns about proposed FCC rules on Access Broadband over Power Line (BPL) systems. IEEE-USA expressed concerns about interference to the licensed users of HF spectrum, and concerns about interference to Access BPL systems from those users. The organization noted the potential negative impact of such interference on the ultimate reliability of Access BPL as a means of delivering broadband service to users. It cited possible adverse effects on many uses that are critical to national security, homeland defense, and emergency and disaster communications. IEEE-USA called for additional studies to evaluate the efficacy of any proposed interference-mitigation techniques. According to the organization, the FCC should not prematurely promulgate rules in the absence of such proof. Finally, IEEE-USA called on the FCC to extend the deadline for reply comments by at least 30 days - preferably 45 days - beyond the current deadline of 1 June to allow interested parties sufficient time to review and consider the content of a National Telecommunications and Information Administration report and other studies that are expected to be submitted in the initial comment phase. The IEEE-USA filing is accessible here. In addition, the IEEE Standards Association and IEEE Power Engineering Society are holding a "Call for Interest in Standards Development for Broadband over Power Lines" meeting in Denver on 7 June. For more information, visit https://standards.ieee.org/announcements/pr_bplinvite.html. |
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IEEE-USA is an organizational unit of the IEEE. It was created in 1973 to advance the public good and promote the careers and public-policy interests of the more than 225,000 technology professionals who are U.S. members of the IEEE. The IEEE is the world's largest technical professional society. For more information, go to https://www.ieeeusa. |
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Email: sec.centraltexas@ieee.org Website: www.ieee.org/CTS |
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